Category Archives: WIP

Yes, it’s true. I am being ever so cliché and taking on a diet for my New Year’s Resolution. A YARN diet. You’ve all seen the Yarnerator. I have worked at two incredibly successful and inspiring yarn shops – Purl Soho and Knitche. I’ve also been knitting for over 8 years. The sad truth of it all – my Yarnerator canNOT even hold all the yarn I call my own.

You think I’m kidding? Ask my mother. The first time she saw my stash was just over a year ago. My mother knows nothing of knitting. She says to me, “Uh … Amanda … do you ever have a project in mind when you buy yarn?” with a look of utter confusion. Those of us in the yarn world know THERE’S NO SUCH THING. The sadder truth, my stash has grown by at least 50% since that encounter – but A LOT of that has already been used … maybe – I don’t know exactly how the math works out.

I have many resolutions this year. One is to get out of my apartment more. Freelancing, knit design, and general knitting are not activities which are great for getting me out of the house and I have decided this is the year I will try harder to meet a man – OKCupid is NOT doing it for me. Another was to not buy yarn until I have finished three projects – two of which had to be from my stash. I decided this was not good enough once I took into account all that I made in 2014:

While I am incredibly proud of all that I made in 2014 (and I don’t think this is even the whole of it), maybe 15% came from stash (part of Diamond in the Gradient, the stripe of my Staggered Cowl, two thirds of By the Mayside, half of Sparrow, meet Habu, Geometry Trapezoid, Janna’s Tunic ::Part Deux, and half of Chevron Stripes hat). Two projects were sponsored, but I bought the yarn for everything else! I am SO proud to have supported Local Yarn Shops, but I have to remember I am a broke-ass female! Here in is where I birthed my newest New Year’s … let’s call it a dare.

These last two weeks have been incredibly busy with freelancing and knitting. I’ve had many ideas of what to share, but I’m going to curb some of that to let you all into some of the crazy!

WIP1

My first Work-in-Progress (WIP), is my Summer KnitAlong with Knitche in Downers Grove.

I’m leading this KAL with the Castle Pullover. It’s a Quince & Co pattern that I’m knitting with Shibui’s Heichi. I was inspired by another image this Spring. It was a gradient tank top with the lightest color held all the way through the gradient. I chose to re-create this effect by holding Shibui Linen in the sidewalk color through the blue and green stripe. You can see this effect more clearly in the image to the left. Below you can see me try it on as I switch to a larger needle for A-line shaping.

WIP2

I’ve been wanting to knit this cardigan since it came out in Rowan’s magazine 3 years ago!

I had Habu Bamboo in my stash and I always envisioned using it for this cardigan. My other inspiration to finally launch me into this project was the arrival of the Quince & Co yarns at Knitche. Quince’s Sparrow fed my need for summery plant fibers. These two yarns work together very interestingly. The bamboo blooms a bit wider than the Sparrow. However, the Sparrow competes with it’s stiffness and keeps the same height for row gauge and 99% of the stitch gauge while still creating a more open fabric. I’ve so enjoyed powering through this cardigan somewhat obsessively!

While I have many other WIPs laying around, I thought instead I would share

A Glitch from Freelancing

I’m working with a local choir to refresh their branding and help them theme an event to come this Fall. My first attempt at a Save the Date for their Roaring 20’s event was quickly turned down. I went through putting the first stab together on a whim and didn’t think it completely through. Living in the great city of Chicago and being inspired by the Art Deco travel posters of the time, I decided to create a travel poster with Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower (if you’re smart and respectful, you dare not refer to it with it’s “new” name).

The client came back pointing out that while a beautiful image … Sears Tower is a Modern building and doesn’t exactly speak to the theme of the 1920’s. This was one of the moments I smacked my palm to my forehead and thought … duh. Though this didn’t work for them, I took the opportunity to keep the imagery and turn it into something fun which I keep in a new folder I call “Failures Turned Fun”. Enjoy!